Graining-tool



W. S. TURNER; GRAINING TOOL.

1%. 567,523; Patented Sept. 8, 1896.

INVENTOR BY w zhse'mmen UNITED STATE I PAT NT OFFICE.

WILL s. TURNER, 0F G'REENVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA.

GRAlNlNG- TOOL.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent N'o. 567,523, dated September 8, 1896.

'Application filed March 80, 1896. Serial No. 586,4.71. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILL S. TURNER, residing at Greenville, in the county of Greenville. and State of South Carolina, have in- Vented a new and Improved Graining-Tool, of which the following is a specification.

My invention seeks to provide a very simple, inexpensive, and easily manipulated graining-tool, which can be made in various sizes and employed for imitating the grain of any kind of wood.

My invention also seeks to provide a graining-tool which can be operated upon cornices, in sharp angles, and at all points where it is possible to grain in the ordinary manner by hand.

With these objects in view,.and other objects which will hereinafter be made apparent, my invention consists, essentially, of a flat flexible body having one or more straight edges and a series of grooves in its under or rubbing face and capable of being folded or bent up in either a transverse or longitudinal direction by finger manipulation, in order to draw the grooved base over the stained wood under varying degrees of pressure in order to obtain the different varieties of grain, such invention also embodying certain novel details of construction, which will be first fully described, and then specifically pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings formingapart of this specification, Figure l is a view showing the invention in use. Fig. 2 is a detail view of the tool or device. Fig. 3 is a cross-section of the tool or device, and Fig. 4 illustrates one manner of using the tool.

In carrying out my invention I propose to make my improved graining tool or device of different sizes in order to be readily adapted for difierent classes of work; and with this object in view I make three sizes, namely, two inches long, six inches long, and twelve inches long, all of said devices being of the same width, namely, six inches.

In the practical embodiment of my invention I employ a flat elastic and flexible base A, preferably of soft rubber, and constructed in the sizes above mentioned, the. thickness of said base varying as desired, but in practice I prefer to make'it from one-fourth to one-half an inch. Upon one face of this base A are arranged a series of concentric circular grooves B, said grooves being of substantially the same width and depth and the same distance apart, and when said grooves become of such diameter as to extend across the entire face of the base the corners left free are grooved, as clearly shown, the arcs being concentric with the circular grooves. In this manner the entire face of the baseis broken by a series of concentric grooves, the majority of which are circular, while the remainder are made on concentric arcs.

Now in operation the base is folded or rolled either transversely or longitudinally, according to the grain desired, and, as a rule, one

or morefingers'are introduced between the ends of the base, thereby aifordin g a convenient means for holding the tool while operating therewith.

The tool thus folded provides a curved surface having a series of grooves thereon, and by drawing the tool thus folded over the face of the board properly ground and stained I am enabled to obtain any desired character of grain, and by giving the tool a slight rolling motion by wrist movement and irregular finger-pressure thereon as it is drawn along I am enabled to produce both the heart and sap portions, and, furthermore, it will be noticed that the sap portion will follow the heart, thereby producing a natural imitation of the grain, and this feature I deem particularly valuable, inasmuch as all of the graining-tools with which I am acquainted are unable to produce such a result.

It should be stated that by providing a flexible body which normally expands to a perfectly flat condition the same will at all times make a perfect contact with wood upon which it is operated, as no matter to what shape it may be bent up in the hand that portion in contact will be held flat by the natural hand pressure. Furthermore, as the 5 body -is flexible in every direction it follows that by the manipulator varying the fingerpressure as he slightly rolls or draws the tool over the wood the different qualities or designs of grain can be produced, as, for ex ample, by slightly rolling the-tool as it is drawn over the wood and applying a maximum pressure a representation of the heart and sap of an old tree can be produced, as

IOO

the rubbing-face of the tool would be squeezed to employ it in graining cornices and the like,

inasmuch as the flexibility of the base permits it to readily conform with any-shaped face to be grained, and another advantageis that I am enabled to insert the corner of the tool into an angle and produce the grain at that point. This it will be impossible to do with any of the devices of which I am aware.

While I have stated that I prefer to construct the base of soft rubber, it is obvious that any other suitable material may be employed, such as gelatin or composite fiber of any kind, the essential feature being to produce the fiat flexible base which can be folded in any direction, the exterior face of which base is grooved concentrically, as shown.

By means of this tool I am enabled to reproduce all kinds of grain, and inasmuch as the tool can be used upon cornices and in sharp angles I am enabled to use it upon fine cabinet-work and coffins, articles which have heretofore been made of wood in which the graining was done before the article was made. The advantages, therefore, of my device will now be apparent to every one skilled in the art to which it pertains. By making the tool of flexible material I am also enabled to grain a cylindrical object, such as a post or rod, by a single stroke, the tool being folded inwardly instead of outward, that is, folded around the cylindrical object that is to be grained.

I am aware that graining implements having rollers adapted to receive the paint and deposit it on the wood to be grained are old. Such devices, however, are in the nature of printing means, as they distribute the color and print the design simultaneously.

My tool is only intended for use after the ground or stain has been applied on the wood, and is operated by a drawing or rubbing action, not by rolling.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A graining-tool consisting of a flat flexible body having a series of grooves on its under or rubbing face substantially as and for the purposes described.

2. A graining-tool, consisting of a flat flexible non-absorbent body having a series of concentric grooves on one face substantially as shown and described.

WVILL S. TURNER.

XVitnesses: FRED G. DIETERICH, J. EDW. LUCKETT. 

